South Carolina congressman draws gun at constituent meeting

ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) – A South Carolina congressman has pulled out his own loaded handgun during a meeting with constituents to make a point that guns are dangerous only in the hands of criminals.

News outlets report Republican U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman placed the .38-caliber gun on a table during Friday’s meeting at a Rock Hill restaurant. NoRman said he wasn’t going to be “a Gabby Giffords,” referring to the former Arizona congresswoman who was shot outside a grocery store during a constituent gathering in 2011.

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Norman said he’ll display his gun at future constituent meetings.

School teacher Lori Carter of Charlotte, North Carolina, said she thought the move was contradictory because there was nothing to prevent her from grabbing the gun and Norman didn’t know if someone there didn’t have a mental health issue.

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